thePlatform Unveils New Capabilities to Support Online Video Businesses

Media companies and content owners face an expanding challenge trying to publish their video assets across multiple devices with varying rights restrictions and advertising obligations. ThePlatform, the leading white-label video publishing company, launched a suite of new features to enhance its customers' ability to enforce video business policies, monetization models, and content restrictions using the company's mpx Beta video management system.

Specifically, mpx Beta now includes new tools for creating and managing curated video feeds, integrated support for applying advertising policies, and additional capabilities to enforce viewing restrictions for TV shows, live events, movies, clips, and more. In addition, the company published a new security white paper on best- practices, including methods of securing content between storage and the CDN (content delivery network), and in various playback scenarios.

Introduced by thePlatform earlier this year, mpx Beta offers features to make managing large content libraries easier; versatile tools to enable more business models across an ever-expanding number of websites, mobile devices, and set-top-boxes; and a continuing commitment to enterprise class performance. The new enhancements to mpx Beta features include: Curated Feeds Drive More Video Views, Advanced Restrictions, Integrated Advertising Policy Management, and New Media Security White Paper.

For more information, click here.

Ralink sponsors CONNECTIONS Europe 2010

CONNECTIONS Europe is excited to announce RalinkTechnology Corporation as a 2010 Advisory Sponsor.

Ralink Technology Corporation is a leading innovator and developer of wireless chipset solutions. Ralink products are recognized for the superior throughput, extended range, low-power consumption and consistent reliability required for Wi-Fi, mobile and embedded applications. These feature-rich chipsets have a high level of chip integration, enabling customers to build smaller and more sophisticated mobile wireless products cost-effectively.

Ralink’s patented MIMObility™ technology extends Wi-Fi applications from traditional PC networking to a range of digital multimedia and handheld devices including cell phones, PDAs, cameras, print servers, HDTV and video game players. Ralink customers can look forward to continuous improvements in speed, bandwidth and reliability with IEEE 802.11n solutions for next-generation high-performance Wi-Fi. Ralink Technology was founded in 2001 with headquarters in Hsin-chu, Taiwan and an R&D center in Cupertino, California.

For more information, visit Ralink at www.ralinktech.com.

AT&T Launches Wi-Fi Hotzone in Chicago

AT&T announced the launch of an AT&T Wi-Fi hotzone in Chicago that will complement the mobile broadband experience for AT&T customers who use Wi-Fi enabled devices while in Wrigleyville — the neighborhood of restaurants and shops surrounding Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs. The new Wi-Fi hotzone provides coverage along the streets and in the outdoor areas of Wrigleyville on the south, east and west sides of the stadium.

The Chicago AT&T Wi-Fi hotzone is the third to be deployed as part of a pilot project to examine using Wi-Fi to supplement AT&T's mobile broadband coverage in areas with consistently high 3G traffic and mobile data use. The first pilot AT&T Wi-Fi hotzone launched in New York City's Times Square in May, and customer response has been positive; as a result, additional Wi-Fi hotzones have been turned up in downtown Charlotte, N.C. and now Chicago.

AT&T is using wireless technologies to mobilize everything that's important to customers – their favorite content, apps, entertainment and social networks. AT&T today delivers the nation's fastest mobile broadband network, as well as the nation's largest Wi-Fi network, giving customers the best combination of speed and coverage.

The popularity of Wi-Fi service — particularly on mobile phones — has grown tremendously. In the second quarter 2010, AT&T handled 68.1 million Wi-Fi connections on its network, compared to just 15 million in the same quarter last year. Customers have made 121.2 million connections in the first half of 2010, already far surpassing the 85.5 million connections made in all of 2009.

Many of the most popular AT&T smartphones support auto-authentication at AT&T Wi-Fi Hot Spots, making it automatic and convenient for customers to connect. Customers can log onto AT&T Wi-Fi hotzones and more than 20,000 AT&T Wi-Fi Hot Spots nationwide without it counting toward their monthly smartphone data usage.

AT&T's Wi-Fi network complements its wired broadband and wireless 3G networks, offering Wi-Fi connectivity at popular locations like retail stores, restaurants and coffee shops from coast-to-coast. For more information click here.

Is Hulu really dying?

The popular online video site, Hulu has been gaining popularity and increasing its visitors since its launch date in 2007, but the popularity may be dropping off. Although Hulu has been proving that networks can make money by making their content available online for free, the number of videos viewed in June verus May decreased from 43 million to 24 million according to ComScore.

Technicolor's 3D Services Enable the Launch of DIRECTV's First 3D VOD Service

Technicolor announced the signing of a three year contract extension to provide a wide range of SD and HD set-top boxes to DIRECTV.

Since the beginning of this relationship, Technicolor has provided more than 48 million set-top-boxes to DIRECTV. The contract extension will allow the two companies to further develop their collaboration in new areas such as 3D. DIRECTV is the first video service provider to offer a suite of three dedicated 3D channels including n3D On Demand.

Technicolor, widely recognised as one of the leading suppliers of set-top boxes worldwide, reached the milestone of delivering 100 million digital set-top boxes at the end of past year.